


White Suit and Purple Eyes: A Chat Blanc one-shot

by thehiddenmeadow



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien is guilty for hurting Marinette, Chat Blanc AU, Chat Noir akumatized, Chat Noir doesn’t remember anything, Chat fights off the akuma eventually, F/M, Kind of an identity reveal but also not really, Marichat rooftop scenes, angsty at the beginning and fluffy at the end, some slight Adrienette at the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-25
Updated: 2019-08-25
Packaged: 2020-09-26 18:22:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20394124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thehiddenmeadow/pseuds/thehiddenmeadow
Summary: Marinette tells Chat Noir about how she humiliated herself in front of the boy she loves, and Adrien can’t help but feel responsible for her pain. Feeling like he’s completely failed as a hero, Hawkmoth akumatizes him into Chat Blanc, a hero-turned-villain who will protect everyone he cares about with his even stronger destructive powers.





	White Suit and Purple Eyes: A Chat Blanc one-shot

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place the night after the museum incident shown in The Puppeteer 2. You don’t need to watch that episode to fully understand this fic, but it helps to have an idea for why the characters are upset! However, there’s references to Glaciator, so definitely watch that before you read!

_That’s it_,  Marinette thought to herself.  _ That’s the last picture.  _

She looked around her room, which seemed emptier than it had been in a long time. Every picture of Adrien she had hung up, framed, or stashed in some other place, was now in this pile on her desk. In a small stack on top of it were the post it notes with scribbled in hearts. 

Shame gathered in the pit of her stomach as she recoiled at herself. Here it is, in a sickeningly heavy stack: the pinnacle of her naivety and obsessiveness. She wanted nothing more than to get rid of it. 

Tikki watched by, helplessly. She knew nothing she could say would ever make Marinette feel better. Maybe, she considered, it would be better to let her self-soothe and move on by her own means. 

_ If only she knew...  _

Although Tikki wanted nothing more than to rid Marinette of her pain right here, right now, she knew it would only put her in more danger. She knew that eventually, everything would work out as it should, and that fate should decide when that should be. 

But fate, wherever it was, only watched as Marinette stuffed the photos of Adrien into the garbage can by her desk, rubbing her hands on her shirt afterward as if she touched something dirty. 

She let out a deep sigh, looking around the room for Tikki. “I’m sorry,” she said. “It’s going to be a difficult night for me.” 

Tikki flew from her hiding spot to give Marinette a kiss on her nose. Marinette gave a small weak smile in response. 

Tikki peered up at her, love and concern in her big bug eyes. “You should get some sleep, Marinette. It’s getting late, and you have school tomorrow!” 

“There’s no way I’m sleeping right now, Tikki,” she said. “Not after what happened today. I’m never going to be able to look at a statue ever again because of that...” 

“But, Marinette—“ 

“Don’t worry about me, Tikki,” she said, walking up to her bed. “I’ll be down in time so I can get a good night’s sleep... I promise. It’s not even that late right now. I’m just going to go look at the stars for a bit to calm down.” 

If this was what was going to make Marinette better again, then Tikki wasn’t going to stop that. 

—————

“What is up with you tonight?” Plagg asked, gorging himself on cheese, like usual. 

Adrien lifted his head from his desk, looking up at the picture of his mother. “I don’t know... something doesn’t feel right. I feel like I’ve hurt Marinette somehow, but I don’t know how I did, or how I can fix it.” 

_Oh, great,_ thought Plagg,  _another time I have to act like I can’t fix all this by just telling him who she is so he can date her already. _

“What should I do?” Adrien asked. 

_Ask out Marinette,_ Plagg thought. 

“Plagg?” 

“Uh... I can’t tell you that. This is your own problem that you have to solve. All I can tell you is to follow your instincts, Adrien. You’re smart, and want to make the people you care about happy. And you care about Marinette, don’t you?” 

Adrien smiled softly. “I do.” 

“Great!” said Plagg, picking up another piece of cheese. “Cheese isn’t this complicated, just so you know.” 

Adrien stood up, confident in what he had to do now. “You can finish that later, Plagg. We have things to do!” 

“Wait, what? But—“ 

“Plagg, claws out!” 

—————

Marinette breathed in the night air, reassuring her worth to herself as she looked up at the stars. She wasn’t focused enough to be able to point out any constellations, and the tears that began flowing from her eyes blurred her vision anyway. 

_Things like this happen. People get over them. It hurts for a bit, but then it passes. _

She looked down at her lap, twiddling her fingers. “Why am I like this?” she said to herself. 

“Marinette?” 

Her head shot up, meeting the familiar green eyes of Chat Noir. She put her hand to her face, trying to discreetly wipe off her tear streams. 

“Chat Noir? What are you— what are you doing here?” she said, trying to draw his attention away from the obvious fact that she was crying. 

“I just— I saw you, and...” he trailed off, moving closer to her. “I thought you might be upset...” 

Marinette let out a laugh. “Me? Upset? No, that’s ridiculous!” 

He watched tears well up in her eyes more and more with every passing second, and along with it came the guilt of seeing his good friend in pain. 

_I really don’t know you at all, do I?_ He thought. 

Marinette breathed in sharply, trying to compose herself. “I’m sorry...” 

“Don’t be,” he said, gently grabbing her hand. “Let me help.” He smiled sweetly at her, putting her hand on his back and using his other to pull her in closer. 

He allowed her to wrap her arms around his waist, as tightly as she wanted, while he carefully placed his arms above hers. He pulled her in even closer, letting her bury her head into his shoulder as she let out deep sobs. 

He just wanted to absorb her pain, every single ounce of it, he wanted her to never feel like this ever again. Marinette doesn’t deserve to feel like this. But he just wanted to know why she did. 

After a few minutes, she stopped shaking. He didn’t want to let her go, but when she loosened the grip on her hug, he knew it was time for him to do the same. She looked up at him with her usually bright blue eyes, which seemed dull at the moment; like a sheet had been cast over them, like light wasn’t entering them properly. 

“Can you tell me what’s bothering you?” 

She didn’t seem to react to his question. After no response for a few seconds, he figured maybe he’d ask again, but then she smiled. 

“You don’t need to worry about me.” 

He gently took hold of her hand. “I’m your friend, Marinette. Please tell me.” 

Marinette wondered if this is what she needed tonight, if fate had sent him her way. Nevertheless, there was no way she was going to look him the eye as she told him. 

She let out a deep sigh. “I... I had a crush on a good friend of mine, for a while now, and I can talk to him about pretty much anything, but... not about how I feel. It scared me knowing that if he didn’t feel the same way, it would totally wreck our friendship.” 

Chat tensed up. “You... like him?” 

She scoffed. “Yeah, completely in love with him, and I made a huge fool of myself in front of him today. Had to play it off like it was a joke. And it was... but he wasn’t supposed to know that.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“I was playing around, trying to get some nervous energy out, but it turned out he’d been there the whole time, watching me. He tells me it’s completely fine, but I still feel stupid.” 

“Seems like he wasn’t really bothered by it, then. He’s your friend, right? Maybe he thought it was funny, but he’ll never bring it up again.” It was really hard for him to hide his nervousness. Was she really this upset because she’s embarrassed in front of him? This is easily something that can be fixed. All he had to do, as Adrien, was be extra kind to her and show her how important she is to him, and maybe not let it backfire this time. 

“Yeah, but that’s not it. I was so close to confessing to him, but then he casually brought up something about the girl he’s in love with. That’s what really got to me.” 

_No_ , he thought.  _This can’t be happening. _

The girl who’s in love with Adrien is talking to him right now, pouring her heart out to him, not knowing it’s really him behind the mask. 

And worst of all, it is his fault she feels this way, but he can’t tell her that, because it will absolutely destroy her. More than it’s destroying him. He felt completely worthless, a horrible friend, and he wished his father had made him stay home for schooling so he wouldn’t have let anyone go through this pain. 

—————

Hawkmoth beamed. A powerful negative emotion was overtaking someone. His window opened, letting in moonlight that caused the white butterflies around him to dance in the shadows of its pattern. 

What a perfect night for an akuma. 

“Ah... doesn’t it hurt when you are causing pain to someone you care about, when they don’t even know who you are? And I sense it’s from a miraculous holder...” 

Hawkmoth did the routine procedure of turning a butterfly into an akuma, but this time, he savored it more. He wanted to make it extra special for the recipient. 

“Fly away my little akuma, quickly! Don’t fail me this time!” 

————— 

“Please don’t cry anymore, Marinette... you don’t deserve to feel this way...” 

She patted his arm, trying her best to be reassuring. “Don’t worry,” she said, “I’ll get over it. It’ll take some time, but I will. Thanks for being there for me.” 

“Please,” he begged desperately, “let me help you feel better!” 

“Chat—“ 

“Remember that one night I helped make you feel better after your heart was broken? I can do that again! Just let me try!” 

“Chat, are you... crying?” 

And he was crying. How could he not be? All he wanted was to make her feel better, to make her feel loved, to protect her from this feeling forever. 

“No, I’m fine. Marinette, I—“ 

And that’s when they both saw it: a black butterfly coming in fast from the side. 

Marinette jumped back, pulling Chat Noir with her. “Get back, you nasty bug!” 

“Marinette...” 

Marinette interrupted. “It’s okay, I’m good! It’s not going to get me! I’m thinking only positive thoughts. Akumas only affect people who think there’s no solutions to their problems, and I always find a solution!” 

Chat Noir stared at her. “Marinette... it’s not—“ 

But she ignored him and interrupted again. “See, it’s going away! I won’t be under Hawkmoth’s control tonight!” 

“It’s not here for you, Marinette... it’s here for me.” 

The akuma began its path toward Chat Noir. He backed away from it at first, then stood in front of Marinette, refusing to let it even consider corrupting her. 

“Everything will be okay, Chat Noir,” Marinette said, shaking, “just think only positive thoughts—“ 

“No,” he said, turning around. “Not when I’ve hurt you this way.” 

Marinette’s eyes widened from his response. She held back a scream as the akuma absorbed into his ring, turning it a deep purple. 

As he looked at Marinette, shaking, tears rolling down his face, Hawkmoth’s voice rang through his head. 

“It’s hard being a hero, isn’t it?” 

“No,” he said. “Get out of my head.” 

“But why? You’re the one who let me in here in the first place. Hear me out... her suffering gives you pain, does it not? Why don’t I let you take that away from her, and from anyone else. I’ll even give you greater destructive power. The lovely lucky Ladybug will never see it coming... then you can easily overpower her, take her miraculous, and give up your own. Wouldn’t life be so much simpler without this double life and secrecy?” 

“Yes... it would...” 

“Well then, it’s nice to meet you, Chat Blanc.” 

Marinette held Chat’s face in her hands, begging that he remain calm and positive. If she can get him to resist an akuma, it’ll be avoiding a catastrophe for the night. 

But it was to no avail. 

He looked up at her, no longer crying. 

“I’m sorry,” he muttered. 

The last thing Marinette saw before darting back into her house were black and purple clouds covering him head to toe. She closed the trapdoor above her bed, and ran down to her living room. She avoided her parents’ questioning by saying she left something in the bakery. Tikki was hidden in her bag, not knowing what was going on, but knowing it was bad. 

“Marinette? What happened? Marinette!” she yelled when the coast was clear. 

“I have to get to the bakery... oh no... what if he comes in?” 

“What if who comes in?” 

She turned to Tikki, and in a panicked whisper, said, “Chat Noir’s been akumatized!” 

“So... time to transform?” 

“Not yet,” Marinette said, pulling out her phone. “I have to make a call.” 

She scrolled down to Master Fu’s number, pressing call without hesitation. She wasn’t supposed to unless it was an emergency, and it definitely was.

Master Fu picked up as Marinette began running down her street, looking up and around, interrupting him before letting him get a single word out. 

“Master Fu, Chat Noir was akumatized in front of me! I didn’t see him afterward, I just ran away. He was on my rooftop, but now he’s nowhere to be found! I have a feeling he’s heading for the Eiffel Tower, so I’m on my way there now. I’m not transformed yet... I think I can talk him down this way.” 

“Marinette, I trust that you can fix this, but please be cautious. The miraculous of destruction under the control of Hawkmoth will prove devastating, and I’m reluctant to give out new miraculous to help you. If he’s putting on a show, he’s doing it to lure Ladybug and other possible allies.” 

“I understand.” 

“Hide and transform the second something goes wrong, and tell me if you want allies.” 

—————

Hawkmoth let out a long, maniacal laugh. “Just a little longer, and Ladybug will come to save him... only to be easily overpowered... Chat Blanc, do something to get Ladybug to come out and play.” 

—————

“Marinette, we need to transform!” 

“We’re not close enough yet! There’s no way he’s not headed there to put on a big show to get everyone to notice him. And if he got akumatized because he felt bad for me, then maybe I can talk him out of it.” 

“It’s too risky! The Eiffel Tower is right there!” 

“I know him, Tikki. He wouldn’t hurt anyone.” 

Screams erupted from around the Eiffel Tower. Marinette eyed it up and down, trying to see if he was on it. To her surprise, though, the entire thing turned bright white. A second later, the Parisian landmark began to crumble into dust. 

The white dust picked up in the wind, flowing through every crack in the pavement in the sidewalks and streets, crawling over grass and flowers, reflecting the moonlight’s eerie glow. It seemed to dance around Marinette’s feet as she stood in shock, looking at the cloud around the area the tower once stood, as the shouting began to get quieter and quieter. 

Even though she didn’t see him, she knew that he was there, in the center of all of it. But he was now head to toe in white, his bell replaced with a collar. 

The Eiffel Tower was completely gone. As he blew white dust off of his hand, he looked around to admire his work. 

“That should get her attention,” he smirked. 

“Good work, Chat Blanc.” Hawkmoth was beaming. He wished he could be there to watch everything go down. “Now, find the one you want to protect before Ladybug gets her first and uses her against you!” 

—————

By this time, helicopters were swarming the area. Reporters held back tears as they described what appeared to be an akumatized Chat Noir destroying the Eiffel Tower. 

But he was nowhere to be found. 

“Are you sure you’re not going to need help?” Tikki asked. 

Marinette looked down at her phone, debating to herself whether or not to call Master Fu again. “He‘s right, Hawkmoth having control of Chat Noir can only be disastrous. But at the same time, there isn’t a good chance I’ll be able to do this alone...” She sighed, putting her phone away. “I can’t put anyone else in danger,” she said. “Not right now, at least.” 

“You’re taking a big risk tonight,” Tikki said. 

“This isn’t any normal supervillain,” Marinette said, scrolling through newsfeed, “they can’t even get a picture of him yet... which means he’s probably hiding.” 

“Yeah, either waiting for you or for Ladybug!” 

“Oh, then it’s perfect! I’m going to go investigate. Hide, Tikki.” 

So Marinette continued her path down the sidewalk, watching live feed from reporters. None of them had captured a glimpse of him, only panicking as people ran out of the cloud of white dust, screaming about a white cat destroying the Eiffel Tower with a single touch of his finger. 

She closed out of the news when she got an alert that the Ladyblog was active. 

She opened up the site, and sure enough, Alya was already there, live-streaming. 

“_You guys will not believe what everyone is saying about this! People coming out of this white cloud of dust are saying that someone who looked like Chat Noir destroyed it! However, if you ever pay attention, you know that his powers don’t turn buildings into this. He’s also been described as being completely white instead of black! Did Chat Noir get akumatized? Or is it another copycat? Stay tuned!_” 

“Oh, Alya... please be careful,” Marinette said to herself. 

Another voice sounded from somewhere near her. “I’m sure she’ll be fine... as long as she doesn’t get too close.” 

Marinette stopped dead in her tracks. She turned her head, meeting the eyes of the one who has it out to destroy Paris. He sat up on a streetlight, the moonlight revealing him just enough. Just like the white dust, he appeared to glow under it. 

“Chat Noir?” 

He jumped down, now standing right in front of her. 

“No,” he said. “Black is an unlucky color... I prefer wearing white now. I look much nicer, don’t I?” 

His once comforting green eyes were now inverted to an electric purple, and completely empty. Chat Noir was behind them somewhere, and Marinette needed to just get to him. 

He gave her a Cheshire grin. “It’s alright, you don’t need to answer.” He took her hand, pulling her close to him with one arm while taking his baton out with his other. 

A van pulled up beside them, and when it stopped, Nadia Chamack and her cameraman ran out toward them. 

“Chat Noir! Have you been akumatized? Our viewers are itching to kn—“ 

“This is perfect,” he interrupted, stepping toward Nadia. The camera was fixated on the villain in white. 

He got closer to Nadia, his smirk growing with every inch. 

“O-our viewers are wondering why you destroyed the Eiffel Tower...” 

He chuckled. “Wanna know a secret?” 

Nadia nodded. 

“White suits me much better.” 

_It really doesn’t_,  Marinette thought to herself. 

He turned to the camera. “Are you watching, Ladybug? I sure hope so. I’ll meet you at the Dupain-Cheng bakery. Don’t be late. Wouldn’t want the sweet little building to be reduced to nothing but white dust, would we?” 

After showing a sadistic smile, he grabbed Marinette and jumped off into the night. 

Master Fu watched Nadia’s live report, deciding Ladybug would need a little bit of help. 

—————

“We’ll wait for Ladybug here,” he said, setting her down carefully on her rooftop. “I thought I was going to meet her earlier, but she seems to be taking her sweet time.” He stared off into the Paris skyline. 

_Now’s my chance_,  she thought.  _I can end this all right now. _

She carefully put her hand on top of his, causing him to turn his head toward her with a suspicious look, but he didn’t move his hand. He just admired her soft smile and kind eyes. 

“Chat,” she said, “you know you’ve always been a great hero, right?” 

He cocked his head, unconvinced. “Really?” 

Marinette panicked. “For sure! You and Ladybug are an unstoppable team that everyone in Paris has looked up to! You don’t need to change at—“ 

She stopped when he ripped his hand away. “All we do is hurt people. If we give Hawkmoth our miraculous right now, he’ll stop all of these akumatizations, and we can go back to living normal lives. Ones where we don’t have to lie and keep secrets.” 

“You can’t let the villain win! The good must always triumph over evil, and Hawkmoth is evil! You have to stop being under his control, Chat Noir!” 

He grabbed her arm, his eyes now full of rage. “My name is Chat Blanc,” he said, “and I am not—“ 

He was interrupted when a flying object suddenly hit him in the head. It shocked Marinette so much that she fell backward. As it ricocheted off his head, she got a quick glance of it. But it was all she needed. 

_A green shield. _

Her heart filled with delight. Master Fu had handed out miraculous after all! 

A voice from a nearby rooftop echoed to her balcony. “It’s not very polite to take hostages, dude!” 

Chat Blanc was infuriated. He leapt to the rooftop the green hero was on, arming himself with his baton once he landed. 

Before Marinette could say anything, she felt a hand on her back. 

It was Rena Rouge. She held her finger to her lips, signaling Marinette to keep quiet. 

Her amber eyes gleamed. “I have an idea, but we can’t be seen!” 

Marinette nodded understandingly. 

Meanwhile, Carapace was doing everything he could to lead Chat Blanc away from the bakery. Chat would try hitting Carapace, but he’d block it with his shield. With every strike, he would move backward and on to other buildings. 

Hawkmoth grunted, realizing he was losing already. “Chat Blanc, Carapace is trying to trick you! Either take his miraculous or get back to where you were before!” 

“Trick me?” 

Carapace laughed, looking to his right. Chat looked in the same direction, watching Rena Rouge take Marinette across Paris until they were both out of sight. 

Hawkmoth wasn’t ready to give up. “She’s probably taking her to Ladybug so she can protect her. Follow them!” 

Chat Blanc didn’t acknowledge Carapace as he sped after what he believed to be the way to get to Ladybug. 

What he didn’t know, though, was that Marinette was hidden safely in her bedroom while Rena Rouge watched him carefully from the window. She was relieved when Carapace made his way to them, unharmed. 

“He’s gone,” Carapace called from the trapdoor. “But he’s gonna be really mad when he finds out it’s an illusion.” 

Marinette beamed at the two of them. The plan was so clever, and they had to come up with it fast, while they both risked being badly hurt. Although she knew it was Nino and Alya under those masks, she couldn’t let them know that. She made a mental note to show her gratitude as Ladybug later. 

Rena Rouge interrupted her thoughts. “We should get going, then.” She turned to Marinette and smiled. “Stay safe, Marinette. We’ll see you later.” 

She beamed back at the two of them, waving as they left her room. When she was sure they were gone, she opened up her bag. 

Tikki zipped out, ready for action. “It was amazing of the two of them to come save you!” 

“Yeah, and really lucky that Master Fu got to them so quickly. But we can’t let them fight alone!” 

“I agree!” 

“Tikki, spots on!” 

—————

“That stupid fox is going to pay for this,” Chat Blanc said as the illusion faded away. “Of course that disgusting reptile led me this way, he didn’t even follow me.” 

“You’re calling me stupid, but you’re the one who fell for my illusion,” she said from behind him. 

Now facing both Rena Rouge and Carapace at the same time, he was ready to destroy them. “It led me to you two though, didn’t it?” 

Carapace readied his shield. “Two against one doesn’t seem very fair on your end, but don’t worry, we’ll take it easy on you.” 

Chat Blanc laughed. “No, I think I’ll have fun.” 

“Will you?” Came a voice from behind him. 

Chat turned around, smirking at Ladybug. “Nice of you to finally make an appearance... I’ve always found satisfaction in stepping on bugs.” 

“Wow,” she said, “that wasn’t clever at all.” 

Hawkmoth was growing more impatient by the second. “Quit the small talk and get me her miraculous! Remember what you’re doing this all for!” 

“Chat Noir,” said Ladybug, “Hawkmoth is using you, don’t give in! This isn’t what a superhero does!” 

Chat’s smile faded. “We hurt people. People we care about. I won’t do it anymore.” He began to advance toward her. “And my name is not Chat Noir, I am Chat Blanc!” 

Rena Rouge threw her flute at his head with all her might. It knocked the villain out of balance at first, but he got back on his feet. He picked up her flute before she could, and turned it into white dust. 

Ladybug was shocked, but didn’t let it inhibit her too long. Since Chat Blanc was distracted, she took a few steps back and decided she needed fate’s help again—and maybe something that would actually work this time. 

But when she said the words “Lucky charm,” the villain looked back at her immediately, a smirk on his face. 

Befofe he could even think about lunging, Carapace came her rescue yet again. 

He pushed Rena Rouge out of the way before stepping forward and holding up his shield. 

“Why don’t you and I pick up where we left off? I‘m not satisfied with how that ended, and I’m sure you’re not either,” he taunted. 

It was enough to send the white cat into a blind rage. As he and Carapace fought, Rena Rouge slipped over to Ladybug. 

“What did the lucky charm give you?” She asked. 

The two looked down at the perfect rose in Ladybug’s hands. 

Rena was more than skeptical. “Uh... how are you supposed to fight him with that? He can destroy it in an instant!” 

Ladybug looked around intently. She had a feeling this would work. 

_Chat Blanc... rooftop... rose. _

“Got it,” she said. “I’m not fighting him with it... I’m bringing him back!” 

Rena grabbed her arm. “You’re gonna talk him down? That’s what Marinette tried to do, and she almost got hurt—“ 

“I’m sure this is going to work,” Ladybug assured her. “But I don’t want you or Carapace too close by.” 

“But—“ 

“You’re about to transform back. When I get the cat’s attention, take Carapace somewhere else. You two have done a great job, but only I can do this last part. But first, get him to follow me.” 

Rena nodded in response. 

Ladybug made her way to her spot. The long rooftop was close to her bakery, with a view of the Notre Dame. She stood patiently until the white cat made his way to her, praying that Rena Rouge and Carapace made it out safely. 

He landed on all fours, slowly standing up. His eyes were angry and impatient, but his smile was sinister, like he wanted to savor every bit of this moment. 

“I don’t want to fight you, Chat Noir.” 

“Give me your earrings, and we won’t have to.” 

“You’re my partner. We’re an unstoppable team. What happened that made you so upset? Why don’t you want to be a hero anymore?” 

“Tell me honestly that doing this hasn’t complicated your life at all. Sitting back and lying to people you care about while being this so called great hero? Do they just never get an explanation?” 

“But why do you think you hurt her—“ 

“I’m not here to talk to you about my feelings. We’re not partners anymore, if you couldn’t tell. And pretty soon, neither of us will have powers ever again. I’m much stronger than you now, it’s not even worth the fight.” 

Before Ladybug could retort, he lunged at her, pinning her to the ground. He was a lot swifter as a villain, she realized quickly. That had to be the akuma’s doing. 

Ladybug and Chat Noir know each other well. They’re able to fight together, which became easier and easier each battle since they first met. They can take down anyone together without having to tell each other much, thanks to their unbreakable trust. 

But Chat Blanc... he was much stronger. She imagined this is what he’d be like after years of using the miraculous, except he’d still be her partner. He wouldn’t have pinned her down on this rooftop, using his baton to keep her arms from moving. 

And he certainly wouldn’t have grabbed hold of her left earring, beaming as he knew he’d succeeded. 

Her suit began coming off, so she had to choose quickly between turning her head left to cover her identity, or turning it right to cover her other earring. 

She decided to go with the latter, but Chat Blanc grabbed her face aggressively and forced her other earring to be exposed. 

She cried loudly and pleaded for him to stop, but he ignored her and listened to Hawkmoth’s voice laughing maniacally, hurrying him to take the other earring. 

“What did I tell you?” he purred. “I’m much stronger than you now.” 

“Please...” 

“We are done hurting people,” is the last thing he said before ripping off her other earring, now holding both in his white hand. 

Ladybug’s suit disappeared in a flash of red, and once again, Chat Blanc was face to face with Marinette. 

_Marinette_. 

His smile vanished. He loosened his grip on the girl he had sworn to protect. 

_It’s... it’s Marinette. _

At the same time, he unconsciously lowered his hand that held the miraculous. 

Back in his lair, Hawkmoth’s smile began to fade. “Ladybug is... Marinette Dupain-Cheng?” 

Marinette seized the opportunity to kick him off and take her earrings back. Tikki appeared from her bag, finishing a cookie that had been tucked in there. 

Chat didn’t get up. Even when Marinette transformed back, even when she called up another lucky charm. 

He didn’t move. 

Ladybug caught her lucky charm, which was the same rose from before. Chat Blanc looked up at it, his empty eyes adorning his empty face. 

This was it. 

Chat didn’t move when Ladybug walked over to him, but his eyes were fixated on the rose. She smiled softly at him, extending her arm to help him up. His gaze moved to her hand as he hesitantly took it, standing up slowly. 

Before he could speak, she held the rose out for him. 

“Do you remember when you gave me a red rose on this rooftop?” 

She watched him look around the rooftop and the surrounding buildings, watching his eyes widen as he seemed to remember too. 

“It was late at night, just like it is now. There’s even a full moon, too... I miss you being my partner, Kitty.” She began to tear up. “I want my partner back.” 

Hawkmoth, infuriated, shouted to Chat Blanc, “Enough with this! Grab her Miraculous, and don’t you dare fail me this time!” 

Chat inhaled sharply, clutching her hand with the rose in one of his hands, and the back of her head with the other. Their faces were so close that the tips of their noses brushed as their bodies trembled. 

“Save me,” he whispered. 

He let his hand fall from the back of her head to the rose in her hand. As he delicately took it with both hands, Ladybug pecked him on the cheek. 

Chat Blanc, no longer threatening, gave the rose back to Ladybug. He raised his hand in front of her, and the akuma left his ring, not getting far before she purified it. 

Miraculous ladybugs brought the Eiffel Tower back, an optimistic glow spreading through the streets of Paris. 

Chat’s white suit turned all black again as he fell to his knees. Ladybug knelt down with him, watching his confused and terrified face peer around him, and then back at her. 

“Ladybug? What... what happened?” 

She couldn’t speak. When she looked into his green eyes, too many emotions came over her. She hugged him tightly, crying of relief into his shoulder. 

Without hesitation, he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. He knew, without a doubt, that she had to fight him while he was under Hawkmoth’s control. There was no other reason she’d ever let herself be distraught around him. 

“Are you okay, Chat Noir?” 

“Are you?” 

“I am now.” 

“Then so am I.” 

—————

Hawkmoth laughed to himself. “I may have failed to get your miraculous this time, but I now know who to go after in order to get what I want from you, Ladybug...” 

—————

“You’re going to transform back in a couple minutes,” Chat Noir said to Ladybug, getting ready to leave. 

“Wait,” she said. “I need to tell you something...” 

He sighed. “I don’t really want to know everything that happened. Besides, I can just look it up online anyway.” He began to make his way off the rooftop, but she was persistent. 

“It’s serious.” 

He stopped and looked back at her. “How serious?” 

Ladybug sighed heavily, knowing the bomb she was about to drop on him. “Hawkmoth knows my identity now.” 

He almost fell backward from shock. “He— what? How?” 

“I hesitated to fight you, and you took off my earrings...” 

Chat Noir looked off into the city, tensing up so much it began to physically hurt. “Why would I do that?” 

“You were under Hawkmoth’s control.” 

“I don’t even remember any of that, or even who you really are... and I put you in danger...” 

“I brought you back, though. That’s what really matters. He’ll never be able to use you against me ever again.” 

“So... I’m still your partner?” 

“Always,” she said as her earrings beeped. 

He turned away. “I should really go now, Ladybug.” 

“Wait,” she said. “There’s one more thing.” 

She walked up to him as he turned back toward her. He was eyeing her earrings, making sure she still had time, but she didn’t seem to care. 

She grabbed his hand. “Hawkmoth knows that Marinette Dupain-Cheng is a pressure point for you because you were akumatized in front of her. You must do everything you can to protect her so that he doesn’t use her against you.” 

“I understand... so you talked to her?” 

“Of course I did! She’s perfectly fine too, by the way.” 

Chat Noir shifted his gaze to the bakery, but it went back to Ladybug after a few seconds when her earrings beeped. 

He smiled softly at her. “I’ll see you soon, then.” 

Ladybug watched him hop off swiftly into the night, and once she couldn’t see him anymore, she went to her balcony and transformed back. 

Tikki appeared in front of her, a worried and melancholic expression on her tiny face. “Chat Noir seems devastated that he hurt you, Marinette. And now that Hawkmoth knows who you are, you’re in a lot of danger!” 

“Yes, I know, and that’s why I told Chat Noir that he needs to protect Marinette. It’ll make him feel better while also keeping my identity to him a secret.” 

“But what about Hawkmoth?” 

“It’s bad, but it could be worse. I can figure out his identity too, I’m not willing to give up yet.”

As she opened the trapdoor to go down into her bedroom, she noticed a weird sound getting closer to her. 

When she turned around, she saw Chat Noir bouncing and soaring across rooftops with his staff. As she closed the door and stepped toward the balcony’s railing, he made his way to her. 

“Hey,” he said, sitting comfortably on the railing, “can we talk?” 

“Please don’t feel bad... it— it’s my fault you were akumatized, I’m sorry—“ 

“Of course it’s not your fault.” He gently placed his hand on her arm, smiling at her reassuringly. “I’m the one who messed up and let myself be controlled by Hawkmoth. I’m...” as he trailed off, his smile disappeared. “I’m a terrible hero. I’ve failed my partner, and let my city down.” 

“Just because you were akumatized once doesn’t mean—“ 

“I didn’t need an akuma to make me realize that.” 

Marinette was shocked. How could he be saying this? Chat Noir, her amazing, brave, pun-loving partner was spilling his guts to her, not knowing she’s Ladybug. She wished she could’ve talked to him more earlier, but he was insistent that he leave before she transformed back. But it seemed like he was leading her astray, hiding the fact that he was going to visit Marinette later. 

Little did she know, she was having the same feeling that Chat Noir was having earlier that caused him to get akumatized. 

“Don’t you dare say that,” she said. “Don’t you dare say that you’re not worthy of being a hero. You are more than amazing at saving people in Paris, and no one can thank you enough for that.” She held his hands in hers, looking deeply into his eyes. “We need you, Chat Noir... and if you ask your partner, I’ll bet she would say the same.” 

Chat stared at her for a few seconds, completely speechless.  _What did I do to deserve you?_ He thought. 

“You’re so amazing, Marinette,” he suddenly blurted. 

_Did I just say that out loud? _

Marinette could feel her cheeks getting warm, but she couldn’t help but chuckle at how abrupt the comment was, or at how flustered he looked. 

He tried chuckling it off too, but stopped when her face came very close to his. 

“Thank you for all the support you’ve given me.” She gave him a kiss on the cheek, much to his surprise. “Fate couldn’t have sent us a better Chat Noir.” 

They pulled each other into a tight hug, appreciation flowing off of both of them. Chat decided that fate couldn’t have given him a better Marinette Dupain-Cheng. 

————— 

Adrien was exhausted the next morning. He considered feigning illness to avoid school. It wouldn’t technically be fake... he did feel sick to his stomach ever since he woke up. 

He finally decided it might have been too suspicious to miss school the day after Chat Blanc happened, as lots of kids miss school the day after they’ve been akumatized due to exhaustion. 

When he went to his locker, everyone he passed was talking about Chat Blanc, pulling up news clips and pictures and Alya had her Ladyblog out... 

It was too much to handle. 

But his heart stopped when Marinette passed by him, avoiding eye contact with anyone nearby. She barely made it to her locker before she was stared at and swarmed by everyone around. 

Alya was the first to run up to her, asking if she was okay. Then everyone was asking her what it was like to be held hostage by the most dangerous super villain Hawkmoth has ever had control of. 

Adrien’s heart sunk to his feet. Plagg looked up at him sympathetically, but the boy didn’t acknowledge him. 

“It’s not my first encounter with a super villain, guys,” he heard Marinette say. “And he wasn’t going to hurt me.” 

“Why did he target you, though?” Alya asked. 

Marinette panicked internally. “Well, I—“ 

Adrien walked up to her, interrupting the (obviously uncomfortable) group conversation. It took Marinette by surprise, but she looked up at him, noticing the undoubtable concern in his eyes. 

“He didn’t hurt you?” He asked. 

“No! Of course not!” 

“Promise?” 

“I promise I wasn’t hurt, Adrien, but why—“

He interrupted by throwing his arms around her. It was a different experience hugging her when he wasn’t in his suit. 

He liked this feeling much more. 

“I’m glad you’re alright,” he whispered into her ear. “I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if something happened to someone so important to me.” 

—————

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! This is the first thing I’ve ever put out on ao3, and I tried not to make it too long. I hope you enjoyed! I don’t plan on continuing it because this was mainly just an experiment to see how posting stuff on ao3 works, and I didn’t want to draw it out too long. Plus the actual Chat Blanc episode isn’t out yet and I know canon will be very far from this. Nevertheless, thank you for reading, it was pretty fun to write!


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